Motors and Generators

Motors and Generators

Electromagnets
Magnet Poles
Parts of a Basic DC Motor
Electric Generators
From the Power Plant to Your Home

Motors and Generators

Small DC Motor
Image courtesy of DOE / NREL

Geothermal Generator

Generator in a
Hydro Plant
Electric Turbine
Generator

Electromagnets
N
S
Electromagnet ends
change between north
and south depending
on the direction of the
current.

S
N

Magnet Poles
Remember that opposite poles attract and like
poles repel.
If you alternate the middle magnets poles, it will
continue to spin.

This is how motors can turn!

Parts of a Basic DC Motor

Motor: A device used to convert electric energy into
mechanical energy.
Brush
DC Source
Commutator

Armature

Permanent
Magnet

S
Commutator

Permanent
Magnet

Brush

Parts of a Small DC Motor

Brushes

Wire
Connections

Permanent
Magnets
Armature
Commutator

Electric Generators
Generator: A device used to convert mechanical
energy into electrical energy.
Mechanical motion turns the armature which creates current.
Many DC motors can function as a generator.

From the Power Plant to Your Home

Image courtesy of Sacramento Municipal Utility District

Power plants
generate electricity.

From the Power Plant to Your Home

Step up transformers increase voltage for

transmission across large towers.
Increased voltage increases efficiency.

From the Power Plant to Your Home

Images courtesy of DOE / NREL

Large towers transmit electricity over long

distances.

From the Power Plant to Your Home

Step down transformers reduce voltage

at substations to acceptable levels for
the end user.

From the Power Plant to Your Home

Electricity arrives at your home at a

junction box.
Usage is measured with a meter.

Preparing Your Armature

Step One: Wrap the Coil
1)

Cut a 3ft section of Magnet wire

2)

Start coiling the wire 3 from the end of end of

the wire. Wrap the wire around a 1diameter
dowel rod until a 3 length remains.

3)

Carefully hold the coil together and pull it off of

the dowel rod. Wrap the coil with the 3
lengths you had left at the beginning and end
of your coil.

Step Two: Sand the Contacts

Coil
Contact

1) Sand the top half

of the contact on one
side

Contact

2) Sand all the way around

the contact on the other
side

Motors and Generators

Electromagnets
Magnet Poles
Parts of a Basic DC Motor
Electric Generators
From the Power Plant to Your Home

Image Resources
Microsoft, Inc. (2008). Clip Art. Retrieved September 10, 2008, from
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/default.aspx
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (2008). Photographic
information eXchange. Retrieved November 5, 2008, from
http://www.nrel.gov/data/pix/searchpix.html
Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD). (2008). Power plant
[Image]. Sacramento: Sacramento Municipal Utility District.